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Untoward
Daumis Mucker knew that turning thirteen was unlucky, but when he tries to rescue another boy from sinister magicians, they are both captured, starved, and tortured for his pluck.
Cewyn Shirad feared being taken by the Deymen, but what he had not counted on was the friend he would make in captivity and the powers that were already unlocked within him.
Rilliam Woodcutter only wanted to be out from beneath his crooked master's thumb. But when trouble brews in the form of two brats and their would-be savior, he must set aside his own desires and continue the dark work of his mentor.
Tadrec TeyAn always wanted to be a hero, but after having recently lost his comrades, will he be able to face down his former childhood abductor? Is he responsible enough to protect Daumis and Cewyn whilst leading them to safety? Can he get them to Horizon before the minions of evil forever corrupt their spirits?
Cewyn Shirad feared being taken by the Deymen, but what he had not counted on was the friend he would make in captivity and the powers that were already unlocked within him.
Rilliam Woodcutter only wanted to be out from beneath his crooked master's thumb. But when trouble brews in the form of two brats and their would-be savior, he must set aside his own desires and continue the dark work of his mentor.
Tadrec TeyAn always wanted to be a hero, but after having recently lost his comrades, will he be able to face down his former childhood abductor? Is he responsible enough to protect Daumis and Cewyn whilst leading them to safety? Can he get them to Horizon before the minions of evil forever corrupt their spirits?
488 pages, Paperback
First published January 3, 2013
17 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 30, 2013
If you’re looking for a wild adventure through a unique and dangerous world then Untoward is the book for you. The author has done an excellent job of describing the surroundings and the personalities of each of the characters. There are twists and turns throughout the story, keeping the reader wondering what will happen next.
The story is dark and at time gruesome with a bit of humor. Although there were several characters that I really liked, there were also characters I hated (because they caused much of the gruesome). Yet I surprised myself, wanting to root for their plight of those I hated, near the end of this first book. That rarely happens to me but I believe it is because of the author’s ability to write each characters story that includes both the good and the bad, revealing the details as to why they chose a certain path in life.
I think Mark has a great future as an author as he has a fantastic imagination which is apparent in this story. I recommend this book to eighteen years and up due to the graphic images that leap off the page and some of the subject matter might be better handled with a slightly more mature mind. Hats off to Mark Brisby, for a job well done.
The story is dark and at time gruesome with a bit of humor. Although there were several characters that I really liked, there were also characters I hated (because they caused much of the gruesome). Yet I surprised myself, wanting to root for their plight of those I hated, near the end of this first book. That rarely happens to me but I believe it is because of the author’s ability to write each characters story that includes both the good and the bad, revealing the details as to why they chose a certain path in life.
I think Mark has a great future as an author as he has a fantastic imagination which is apparent in this story. I recommend this book to eighteen years and up due to the graphic images that leap off the page and some of the subject matter might be better handled with a slightly more mature mind. Hats off to Mark Brisby, for a job well done.
November 25, 2013
First off, I have to say that I got an eBook copy from I am, Indeed, for purpose of honest review.
Second off...I could not finish it....I read 70 percent of the book and I could not finish....I am embarrassed by that. I have not finished a few badly written romance novels, a few erotica novels, and couple of science fiction (militaristic), but I have NEVER not finished a fantasy.
Okay, I love the fantasy genre, I would rather read fantasy than any other genre. My teen formative years were spent reading Thieves World, Sanctuary, and Dragon Riders of Pern, most of my paperback library is fantasy...You get the idea, fantasy is my comfort food in books. When I was asked to read Untoward, I was pretty excited. It started out pretty good with Daumis feeling sorry for himself because he believes he is responsible for the death of his mother- and Cewyn, whose parents have ignored him and just let him be a scholar because he is no good at sword play, they express their disappointment often, so Cewyn feels sorry for himself as well...I can go with that, you can see that the two are going to meet, and will become friends. It has all the markers for a great story and I really wanted to like it, even a little bit...
The author bogged me down with too many useless stories, too many characters that just didn't matter, and way too many races of people to keep track of who is fighting with whom....I lost track after 9 different races (includes Denizens and Citizens, the two sorcery races) Nobody, and I do mean nobody in this story gets along with the neighbors. Toss a couple of "dead" races in there and it gets confusing...I ended up taking notes, and that just detracted from my enjoyment of the book. I got tired to death of the word ATHWART...find a thesaurus and use it please Mr. Brisby..135 times according to my kindle...it has replaced moist as my most unfavored word. The hatred between Grevor and Tadrec got really old.... I found myself just skimming whenever a new name was mentioned there was just too much name tossing and that was confusing too. I did not like how Daumis was made to be "simple" he may not have had scroll learning or letters , but to not know what a word meant, ignorant being one, just made it too much a case of beating it thru my head that Daumis was not schooled. I hate that. As a reader, I don't like it when an author beats me senseless with an idea. I didn't like that Cewyn was kinda arrogant, even after all that he and Daumis had been thru. I didn't find that very believable. If these two were supposed to be close, that didn't help.
There were a few things I liked. I liked the two opposing fields of magic, that was a killer idea. That one side forced submission and thru that the magic was used, and the other, that taught thru a school and did baby steps. I liked the different gifts of magic- death sense, tomorrow, empathy, etc. I liked Tadrec, a lot, he could have been a potential book boyfriend- he was funny, sarcastic, witty but yet, as we saw with Ran, Tadrec could be oh so human. There is a kernel of a good book in here, I just wish it would have been found and nurtured and allowed to grow.
Second off...I could not finish it....I read 70 percent of the book and I could not finish....I am embarrassed by that. I have not finished a few badly written romance novels, a few erotica novels, and couple of science fiction (militaristic), but I have NEVER not finished a fantasy.
Okay, I love the fantasy genre, I would rather read fantasy than any other genre. My teen formative years were spent reading Thieves World, Sanctuary, and Dragon Riders of Pern, most of my paperback library is fantasy...You get the idea, fantasy is my comfort food in books. When I was asked to read Untoward, I was pretty excited. It started out pretty good with Daumis feeling sorry for himself because he believes he is responsible for the death of his mother- and Cewyn, whose parents have ignored him and just let him be a scholar because he is no good at sword play, they express their disappointment often, so Cewyn feels sorry for himself as well...I can go with that, you can see that the two are going to meet, and will become friends. It has all the markers for a great story and I really wanted to like it, even a little bit...
The author bogged me down with too many useless stories, too many characters that just didn't matter, and way too many races of people to keep track of who is fighting with whom....I lost track after 9 different races (includes Denizens and Citizens, the two sorcery races) Nobody, and I do mean nobody in this story gets along with the neighbors. Toss a couple of "dead" races in there and it gets confusing...I ended up taking notes, and that just detracted from my enjoyment of the book. I got tired to death of the word ATHWART...find a thesaurus and use it please Mr. Brisby..135 times according to my kindle...it has replaced moist as my most unfavored word. The hatred between Grevor and Tadrec got really old.... I found myself just skimming whenever a new name was mentioned there was just too much name tossing and that was confusing too. I did not like how Daumis was made to be "simple" he may not have had scroll learning or letters , but to not know what a word meant, ignorant being one, just made it too much a case of beating it thru my head that Daumis was not schooled. I hate that. As a reader, I don't like it when an author beats me senseless with an idea. I didn't like that Cewyn was kinda arrogant, even after all that he and Daumis had been thru. I didn't find that very believable. If these two were supposed to be close, that didn't help.
There were a few things I liked. I liked the two opposing fields of magic, that was a killer idea. That one side forced submission and thru that the magic was used, and the other, that taught thru a school and did baby steps. I liked the different gifts of magic- death sense, tomorrow, empathy, etc. I liked Tadrec, a lot, he could have been a potential book boyfriend- he was funny, sarcastic, witty but yet, as we saw with Ran, Tadrec could be oh so human. There is a kernel of a good book in here, I just wish it would have been found and nurtured and allowed to grow.
October 2, 2013
This was quite good but rather too long, and the author used the word 'athwart' way, way too much (probably like thirty-odd times or more). Having said that, I think I'd like to read the next book. :)
Overall rating: 3.5/5.0 stars.
Reviewed for Bitten by Books. http://bittenbybooks.com.
Overall rating: 3.5/5.0 stars.
Reviewed for Bitten by Books. http://bittenbybooks.com.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews